Type 2

In May 2017 I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. My mom’s mom had it, my mom has it, and my dad has it. My mom and dad were older when they were diagnosed with it. I was diagnosed at the age of 46. My mother-in-law had it, so my daughters have it on both sides, both grandmothers. My dad’s mom didn’t have it.

Forty-six years old, 5′ 8″, 275 lbs. A1c of 7.1. Normal A1c is 5.6 or less. So I got serious. In three months I dropped my A1c to 6.0 and I forget how much weight I lost. In the next three months I dropped my A1c to 5.7. Just one point over normal. Yay! And I forget how much weight I lost that time, but I am currently down to 203 lbs.

I was a big baby, weighing 10 lbs. 3 oz. I became over weight when I started school. When I was in jr high or high school we dieted as a family. We were all over weight. My mom was not over weight when she was younger, my dad was chunky as a little kid but lost it when he was a teen.

Even with dieting I never lost enough weight to feel like I was a normal size. I was shy and overweight. But I met my best friend my senior year. We married. After a couple of years of marriage I did nutrisystem and lost down to about 195 lbs. I was 20-21 years old. But I gained it back. We had two daughters. He got killed. I lost some weight, but again gained it back.

My mom bought me a Michael Thurmond’s 6week body make over kit. I lost weight with it, but then gained it back. At my heaviest that I know of I have weighed 315 lbs. Even at 203 lbs. I am smaller than I ever remember being.

My older daughter purchased an e-book of a diet plan called the fit girl challenge. I did not lose a lot of weight with that, but when I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes I used some of the fit girl challenge ideas and some of the 6week body makeover.

By no way has it been easy, but it has gotten bearable. Maybe the difference is I know I’ve got to do this to have a better quality life. And not fall of the wagon so to speak. In the past I would get tired of eating something different from everyone else. But I finally found out what worked for me. Eventually they had to start cooking for themselves. One, because of my work schedule and two, because I needed to eat differently. That helped also because a lot of times I was eating at different times than my family. Eating together made me more prone to overeat and not stick to my meal plan.

When I started loosing weight it was encouraging. It was also encouraging when y A1c started coming down. My work schedule still prevents me from eating with my family very often, but I do eat with them when I can without worrying about falling off the wagon.

So if you or someone you know needs to lose weight, keep trying. I had yo-yo’d a long time before I got to the place I am now. The sooner the better, but don’t quit trying.